aversion | bbangnyu

23

One week later

Chanhee flopped down onto his bed and opened his math book with a dramatic sigh. Although he never wanted to do his homework on a Friday night, it was a rule he made for himself his freshman year.

Since it was the weekend, Mrs Lee had assigned a longer worksheet than normal. Normally Chanhee didn't mind doing math, but he hated doing any homework on the weekend.

It took a bit of pep talking himself, but Chanhee finally started on the worksheet. He spent a while silently working, getting almost halfway done until he heard something hit his window.

Upon hearing the noise, he promptly thought about every true crime documentary he'd ever seen. Reluctantly, Chanhee got off his bed and tiptoed over to his window, hoping he wasn't walking over to his demise.

His heart was beating incessantly as he shakily reached out to pull back his curtain. All of the fear in his body dissipated when he saw Younghoon standing in the grass holding a handful of pebbles.

"Why are you here?" Chanhee asked as he opened the window.

"Oh y'know..." Younghoon started before saying something Chanhee couldn't quite understand. "Can I come in?"

Extending one of his hands towards the elder, he helped the boy into his room; however, Younghoon's legs didn't seem to work as the boy sort of fell into the room and into the floor.

"It is eleven at night, Younghoon, why are you here?"

"Oh...I parked on the side...street don't worry."

Helping the elder up as best he could, Chanhee helped him walk over to his bed and set him down. "Are you drunk?" He whispered as if his mother was standing with her ear pressed against the door.

"No..." he started before shrugging, "maybe just a little."

A frustrated sigh fell from Chanhee's lips and he placed his hands on his hips. "You can't drive after drinking!" He hissed.

"'S not that bad..." Younghoon slurred as he grabbed one of Chanhee's pillows and wrapped his arms around it.

"How much have you had to drink?" The younger interrogated, ripping the pillow out from his arms so he wouldn't fall asleep.

"Like five."

"Five what?"

"Why are you yelling at me?" Younghoon asked, squinting up at the boy from the harsh lighting of his room.

Hiding his face in his hands, Chanhee wondered how a peaceful Friday night could turn into something chaotic so quickly. "Do you know how stupid it is that you drove here!? You could've gotten yourself killed!"

"I just wanted to see you..." Younghoon muttered as he draped an arm over his eyes to block out the light.

"Why?" Chanhee asked harshly, still on edge about the fact Younghoon thought drunk driving was something to just shrug off, "why do you care so much about me!?"

A string of indistinguishable words fell from the boy's mouth before his head lulled to the side, eyes fluttering closed for a few moments.

"Stay there," Chanhee said flatly before walking into the bathroom to have a few minutes of silence to compose himself.

✨✨✨

When Chanhee finally felt like he could talk to Younghoon without screaming at him, he decided to go back into his room. He assumed the elder would've fallen asleep by now anyway, however he was sitting on Chanhee's lap, holding the mug he painted only a week prior.

He just examined the boy from his doorframe for a few moments before hearing a small sniffle. The expression on his face softened before asking, "are you okay?"

Setting the mug down to minimize the chance of it falling out of his unsteady hands, he just shrugged. "I don't want to talk about it."

Chanhee walked over and sat next to the elder. "You've been saying that an awful lot lately," he started gently, noticing the trail of tears dampening both of his cheeks, "You can talk to me about anything, Younghoon, I won't judge you." 

"I can't..." he whispered, "I just can't." Although he still couldn't think very clearly, he was sober enough to know it was better to just stay quiet. "I want to go to sleep...can I just sleep here?"

"Yeah—sure," Chanhee stammered.

✨✨✨

A groan came out of Younghoon as he was blinded by the sun beaming down on his face. He rolled on his side and felt around for his phone on the bed, but couldn't seem to find it.

Finally opening his eyes he saw his phone charging on the nightstand next to the bed. His eyebrows furrowed together upon seeing the unfamiliar object next to the bed, he didn't remember ever seeing it before.

Slowly turning his head, Younghoon saw that he wasn't alone on the bed. "What the hell..." he whispered when he saw Chanhee fast asleep next to him. There was a line of pillows in the center of the bed that must have been placed there to separate the two, yet Chanhee had an arm an a leg draped over the barrier.

Younghoon didn't remember much from the night before, he recalled being at the bar with Juyeon then breaking into Chanhee's room.

"Chanhee..." he said quietly, poking the sleeping boy's shoulder, "Chanhee wake up."

An indistinct noise came from the younger before he pushed himself up into a sleeping position, his eyes still closed. "What—what happened?" He asked frantically, looking from side to side as if he could see anything. 

"I didn't want to leave without saying anything...but I should probably go so your parents don't see that I illegally broke into your house."

The boys head lulled to the side before muttering, "oh sure...how early is it? I'm so tired." He didn't seem to want a real answer as he simply let himself fall forward, landing on Younghoon's shoulder. "I'm going...go back to sleep."

Awkwardly patting the boy's head, Younghoon let out a small hum, not quite knowing what he was supposed to do. "Chanhee, I don't want to get you in trouble."

"Stop talking."

"Chanhee."

"Shhhh—it's too early for this."

"It's nine o'clock."

Unknowingly, Chanhee loosely wrapped his arms around the elder's torso and leaned into the warmth of his body. "I'm too comfortable for you to leave," he said quietly as his eyes fluttered closed once again, "You're staying right here." 

———

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